Modern aircraft, in particular commercial aircraft, comprise a large number of components and systems which have to be cooled and/or heated in dependence on their configuration, their function and their operating state, and also in dependence on the ambient conditions. Some systems present on board the aircraft, such as, for example, electronic devices, have to be exclusively cooled during operation in order to ensure sufficient removal of the heat loads generated by the aircraft devices and thus proper functioning of the aircraft devices. Other systems, by contrast, have to be heated, particularly when the aircraft is flying and outside temperatures of up to −60° C. prevail. Finally, there are systems which have to be cooled in certain operating situations, for example when the aircraft is on the ground, and heated in other operating situations, for example when the aircraft is flying.
In aircraft used at present, the various devices present on board the aircraft which are to be cooled and/or heated are supplied with cooling and/or heating energy by individual cooling and/or heating systems associated with the aircraft devices to be cooled and/or heated. The individual cooling and/or heating systems are generally adapted, with regard to their setup and their operation, specifically to the cooling and/or heating requirements of the aircraft devices to be cooled and/or heated. In order to be able to ensure reliably in all operating situations of the aircraft proper functioning of the aircraft devices to be cooled and/or heated, the individual cooling and/or heating systems associated with the aircraft devices to be cooled and/or heated must therefore be dimensioned and designed such that they enable a sufficient supply of cooling and/or heating energy to the aircraft devices to be cooled and/or heated also at peak-load periods, i.e. periods of maximum cooling and/or heating requirements of the aircraft devices to be cooled and/or heated. The individual cooling and/or heating systems therefore have a relatively high weight and a relatively high installation space requirement. Moreover, the operation of the individual cooling and/or heating systems is very energy-intensive, particularly at peak-load periods.